Lonza is opening a dedicated cell-and-gene-therapy facility, which was built in anticipation of the rising demand from developers of cell and gene therapies.
During a grand opening ceremony today in Pearland, TX, Lonza executives and industry leaders will unveil the 300,000-square-foot facility and its offerings – highlighting its state-of-the-art, fully integrated, everything-under-one-roof access to some of the world's most innovative cell-and-gene-therapy manufacturing technologies.
"Lonza Houston will serve as a center of excellence for cell-and-gene-therapy process development from concept through pre-clinical, clinical and commercialization, all the way to the patient," said Andreas Weiler, Business Unit head for Emerging Technologies at Lonza Pharma & Biotech. "This facility has the potential to produce treatment for thousands of patients suffering from rare genetic disorders or life-threatening diseases, under one roof. It will set a new standard in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and stand as one of four centers of excellence in cell and gene therapy in the only global network spanning three continents."
The Lonza Houston Center of Excellence is already operational and manufacturing for several customers. This facility will have more than 200 full-time staff including scientists, engineers, MBAs and biotechnology professionals by the end of 2018 and continues to recruit high-value positions as market demand increases.